E-Invoice (IRN) and E-Way Bill with ClearTax for WooCommerce

CatCode E-Invoice with ClearTax for WooCommerce sends WooCommerce orders to the E-Invoicing API of ClearTax (Clear) with your own API client and keeps on the order what the portal sends back: the IRN, the acknowledgement number and date and the signed QR code. It is for Indian stores that have to report their B2B invoices to the Invoice Registration Portal. The module interface is in English.

What the free version does

The “E-invoice (ClearTax)” box on the order screen has a “Check” button: the module looks at the buyer’s GSTIN, the State and PIN code, the HSN or SAC of every line, the document number and the totals, and then runs the validation of ClearTax without registering anything. “Generate IRN” sends the order; the IRN, the acknowledgement number and date and the signed QR code are saved on the order. The QR code shows on the order screen, in the order e-mails and on the order page of the customer’s account. You can download the PDF that ClearTax prints, refresh the status and link an IRN that already exists: after a request that got no answer, paste the IRN and the module reads the document back from ClearTax. The supply type (B2B, SEZ, deemed export, export) is worked out from the order and can be set by hand; an order in another currency takes an exchange rate. Sandbox and production are switched in the settings, the client secret is stored encrypted and the access token is reused until it expires.

What Pro adds

The IRN in the background when an order becomes Processing or Completed: a failure never blocks the order, and the reason goes to the order notes and the log. A bulk action in the orders list and an “E-invoice” column. Cancel an IRN with the reason. The e-way bill from the IRN or for orders that need no IRN: transporter, vehicle, Part B update, cancellation and the e-way bill PDF. Credit notes: a refund of an order with an IRN is registered as a credit note that points at the invoice, by hand or automatically. The dynamic UPI QR code of ClearTax for B2C orders. A log: every request with its result and, for the error codes ClearTax documents, what to do about it.

Good to know before you start

• You need your own ClearTax account with the E-Invoicing product. The API client and its secret are yours, and e-invoices are registered under your GSTIN.
• An IRN is a tax record. The portal lets you cancel it only within 24 hours, so use “Check” before the first registration and start in the sandbox.
• Orders of buyers with a GSTIN (B2B), SEZ supplies, deemed exports and exports get an IRN. Orders of buyers without a GSTIN (B2C) are not registered by the portal, and the module refuses an IRN for them (in Pro they can get the dynamic payment QR code).
• If a request got no answer, the document may have reached the portal, and a second attempt is refused as a duplicate: copy the IRN from ClearTax and link it with the button on the order.
• ClearTax revokes the previous token whenever it issues a new one, and issues at most 288 tokens a day. Create a separate API client for the site so that another system, such as an ERP, does not keep resetting the token of the module.
• The sandbox accepts only the test GSTINs of ClearTax as the seller, for example 29AAFCD5862R000; they are listed in the ClearTax documentation.
• The module does not calculate GST: it reports what the order charged. Set up your tax rates in WooCommerce.
• Without CatCode GST Invoice the document number is a prefix plus the order number and the date is the day of sending; it is not a consecutive invoice series.
• The module interface is in English only.

How it works, step by step

1. In your Clear account open Settings → Integrations → API Clients, create an API client with the E-Invoicing product and copy the client secret.
2. In WooCommerce → E-Invoice (ClearTax) choose the environment, paste the secret, press “Check connection”, fill in the seller details and save.
3. Open an order of a buyer with a GSTIN, press “Check”, then “Generate IRN”.
4. The IRN, the acknowledgement number and the QR code appear in the order box, in the e-mails and in the customer’s account.

Under the hood

• The client secret is stored encrypted and never printed back on the page.
• The access token is reused until it expires.
• The document is checked locally before it is sent: GSTIN, State, PIN code, HSN or SAC, number and totals, then ClearTax runs its own validation without registering.
• Only what ClearTax confirmed is saved as registered.
• HPOS, block and classic checkout compatible; interface language: English.

How to install

1. Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin: choose the zip and activate it.
2. WooCommerce → E-Invoice (ClearTax): choose the environment and paste the client secret.
3. Press “Check connection” and fill in your GSTIN and the seller details.
4. Run a few orders through the sandbox with a test GSTIN first.

The module is not on wordpress.org yet: the free version and Pro are one archive from this page. Without a key it works as the free version.